The first half was a real scrappy affair, not helped by the strong winds and bobbly surface. Lewis Wing lashed a shot wide as it fell his way from a corner for Reading in the only real notable opportunity in a poor first 45 minutes.
Rovers came out firing second half but Luke Molyneux couldn't properly connect to Harry Clifton's centre, prodding the ball wide.
That wasn't the case just minutes later when skipper Owen Bailey continued his outstanding scoring form, crashing home his 16th of the season after Elliot Lee's initial effort fell into his path.
Rovers had two golden chances to kill the game off but Molyneux and then sub Brandon Hanlan both botched efforts - not that it mattered as toothless Reading never really looked like scoring.
Here's how we rated the Rovers players this afternoon:
9. Luke Molyneux 6
A low-key showing from the wideman. Frustrating afternoon was personified when he ran the length of the pitch and instead of a simple pass to Gibson, he opted to shoot and saw his effort charged down by the goalkeeper. Subbed off shortly after. Photo: Howard Roe/AHPIX LTD
10. Hakeeb Adelakun 6
Tracked back at times but decision-making wasn't always on point. Fired a shot that Pereira got down well to keep out second half. Photo: Howard Roe/AHPIX LTD
11. Elliot Lee 7
Deployed as an auxiliary centre-forward. Some things worked, others didn't. Exemplary shows of control throughout as he stitched play together and rightfully got a hearty applause when he went off late on. Photo: Craig Hawkhead / AHPIX LTD
